Newslinks for Saturday 9th August 2014

Cameron backs Obama – world must assist Yazidis in their ‘hour of desperate need’

“Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said Britain was ready to provide ‘technical assistance’ to support US humanitarian operations in the region. Speaking after a meeting in Whitehall of the Government’s Cobra emergencies committee, he said the priority at the moment was air drops to assist starving refugees. There are no current plans for the RAF to get involved in air strikes. However, a Government source said last night that joining the US was ‘not ruled out’ for ever.” – Daily Mail

The West betrayed Iraq by leaving early. Rescue the Christians, and keep going – Tim Montgomerie, The Times (£)

Charles Moore: The West is ignoring the real practitioners of ‘disproportionate’ violence

So let me return to the word “disproportionate”. The whole range of moral obloquy is hurled at Israel. At the posh end is the decision by the Tricycle Theatre in north London to withdraw its traditional hospitality for the UK Jewish Film Festival because the festival is, as in the past, part-subsidised by Israel… Israel is not a dictatorship, and does not fund terrorists, yet its money is declared tainted.” – Daily Telegraph

“Ministers were inching towards an agreement over tighter arms exports to Israel last night in the wake of the resignation of a member of the cabinet over the government’s stance on Gaza. It also emerged that Conservative whips have been phoning MPs to gauge whether others were unhappy with Mr Cameron’s refusal to describe Israel’s actions in Gaza as “disproportionate”.” – The Times (£)

“A host of young, digitally savvy women are being made peers by David Cameron including the head of telecoms company and a former Google executive. Seven of 12 new Conservative peers announced on Friday are women, including Dido Harding, the chief executive of TalkTalk, and Joanna Shields, an American-born businesswoman who used to run Google’s European operations.” – Daily Telegraph

Concerns over Google’s links to government as PM’s digital advisor made a peer – Daily Mail

Paterson to set up new think-tank

“Owen Paterson, who was sacked as environment secretary in last month’s cabinet reshuffle, is to set up his own think-tank. Mr Paterson says the new venture, provisionally called UK2020, will seek to articulate the views of Conservatives “beyond Westminster”. It will campaign for Britain to leave the European Union and free itself from some climate change regulations and targets.” – The Times (£)

Toughen up on migration if you want to lead, MPs warn Boris

“Boris Johnson has been warned that he needs to be tougher on immigration if he is to have any hope of succeeding David Cameron as Tory leader. In the first signs of disapproval of the London mayor’s decision to run for parliament, Tory MPs warned that his views on immigration, selective education and HS2 could trouble the party during an election campaign.” – The Times (£)

Matthew Parris: The broken promises that will trip up Boris

“There’s no vacancy for the leader’s job he craves. Even if there were, he isn’t yet in the position to apply for it. If or when he is, he probably wouldn’t get it. And if he did, the first thing he’d do is betray the Tory right… At present you can hardly make yourself heard above the cheers from The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail; but unless the right are blinder than I think, Boris will never be their candidate. He’s a better man than that. The chances of Boris Johnson ever leading the Conservative Party are less than 10 per cent.” – The Times (£)

“Ed Miliband has promised to include a veto on a currency union with Scotland in his 2015 manifesto if voters back independence, and he dismissed Alex Salmond’s threats about the consequences of such a move. The Labour leader, George Osborne and Danny Alexander have previously said that they would not take the rest of the UK into a sterling zone with a separate Scotland if their party holds power at Westminster.” – The Times (£)

“Nine transport secretaries have served the UK since tax breaks favouring the fuel were launched. But not one has explained why motorists are now facing charges due to health concerns over the fumes they emit. We also approached former PM Gordon Brown, who first began the shift to diesel when he was Chancellor in 2001. But we got no reply from the man whose measures encouraged millions to switch to the more fuel-efficient cars.” – The Sun (£)

“Detectives had taken legal advice from a senior lawyer on the rare and potentially controversial move of arresting the serving politician. This would have given them the power to search his home and offices, as well as taking his fingerprints and other evidence. But sources close to the case told The Times that at the last minute the planned arrest was blocked. It is not known by whom.” – Daily Mail

Farage tipped for South Thanet as UKIP member appears to leak his decision to stand

“Nigel Farage is set to fight for a seaside seat in his home county of Kent. The marginal constituency of South Thanet has widely been tipped as the place where the Ukip leader will make his bid for Westminster. A local party member appeared to inadvertently reveal Mr Farage’s decision yesterday by insisting that he was on a shortlist to contest the seat. However, Ukip officials said the shortlist had not yet been finalised.” – The Times (£)

News in Brief:

Osborne’s cat, Freya, being treated by vets after being run over outside Downing St – Daily Mail

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